With the official introduction of the Nexus One and quite a few really fascinating handsets at CES, we can say the new year began on a truly promising note. Now, a forecast relating to what we might expect to see in 2013 has appeared. According to Gartner, cell phones will soon take over computers as the most popular devices to surf the Internet and this will happen on a global scale in just three years. The calculations of the company indicate that the total number of PCs used for web browsing at that time will be about 1.78bln., while the cell phone count will have risen to nearly 1.82bln. devices. Gartner claims that a great number of webpages will have to be optimized so as to become suitable for proper visualization on a small screen, plus the use of social networks and functions and location-based services (searches, augmented reality-based etc.) will be sky-rocketing in the next few years.
We agree with the forecast to an extent – certainly, surfing the Web on the latest smartphones has become a truly enjoyable experience indeed, plus the evolution of browsers has been picking up speed. Still, we believe it´s rather the cell phone software that will be optimized to visualize web pages in much the same way computer browsers do (the support of Flash 10.1 is just a step in the right direction) than see too many companies rework their websites to make them more cell phone friendly.
Source: http://www.phonearena.com/htmls/Cell-phones-will-dominate-global-web-surfing-in-2013-article-a_8879.html
Monday, January 18, 2010
Friday, November 13, 2009
Motorola Droid
The Droid is already evoking the "love it or hate it" reaction from many people. If there's one thing it's got, it is its own sense of style that stands out from the growing number of look-alike Androids already populating the market. It is rectangular, with sharp edges and strongly resembles the black monolith from "2001: A Space Odyssey." As far as monoblock-style touch phones goes, its unique.
It feels very good in the hand. Though a bit on the heavy side, the materials feel top notch and the construction is sturdy and strong. There is a mix of metallic surfaces, plastic surfaces and soft-touch surfaces that are well conceived and make the phone comfortable to hold an use. It is big, though. The Droid has a 3.7-inch screen, and a bit of an odd ledge below it that extends the size of the phone. Despite the stretched length and width, Motorola has crafted one of the thinnest sideways sliders out there. It is a little bulky when stored in a jeans pocket, but it could be much worse.
The front is mostly the display, but at the bottom of the display Motorola has added four capacitive-touch buttons. These are the back, menu, home and search keys. These automatically have haptic feedback out of the box, but that can be turned off if users wish. These four keys appear to require a slightly longer touch to use than the capacitive display itself. This makes them harder to work with, but less prone to accidental pushes. Below these keys is the ledge. According to Motorola, this ledge is where all the RF antennas are bunched, and was designed on purpose to protrude a bit from the bottom of the phone.
The microUSB port is the only thing users will interact with on the left side of the phone. The camera key and volume toggle are both on the right side of the phone. The volume toggle was acceptable. It has decent travel and feedback and is easy enough to find. The camera key is a two-stage button. The two stages are subtle, but just enough so that users can tell them apart.
One of the most annoying aspects of the hardware is the power/lock key at the top of the phone. The key itself is just a small dash that is along the very top edge. However, there's a little angled surface next to it, and this angled surface is where the Power/Lock icon is painted onto the phone. This is really confusing. I found myself constantly pushing the angled surface that has the icon rather than the button itself. Users will likely overcome this misstep over time, but still, it left me scratching my head. The 3.5mm headset jack is next to the power key.
The Droid's slider is not spring assisted. In fact, it's a little difficult to push up. It's firmly attached to the bottom half of the phone, though, and there is no weakness or give in the construction. I don't mind the lack of assistance, but some might. The QWERTY keyboard underneath is Droid's biggest weakness. It has four rows, but they are somewhat shallow, meaning there isn't a lot of space between the bottom row and the top row. There's plenty of space from side to side. The keys themselves are a disaster. They have absolutely no shape to them whatsoever. It is impossible to tell where your thumbs are on the keyboard, and it is way too easy to press multiple keys at once. Also, the keys have minimal travel and feedback, making typing on the keyboard a miserable experience. To be honest, I gave up and used the landscape software QWERTY instead.
I found the landscape QWERTY to be decent. The width takes some getting used to, and some may not like how much screen real estate it consumes, but it does a passable job.
Another weird design flaw of the Droid is that the battery cover seems to come off too easily. More than once I had it come loose in my pocket and actually fall off when I took the phone out of my pocket. Other reviewers noted this, as well. Also, the battery needs to be removed to pull out the microSD card. Weak. Motorola should know better.
There are no physical send/end keys on the Droid. All your calling will be done with software on the screen itself.
In all, the Droid is an already better piece of hardware than the recently released CLIQ from Motorola, though it does have some major weaknesses.
Source: http://www.phonescoop.com/articles/article.php?a=318&p=2282
It feels very good in the hand. Though a bit on the heavy side, the materials feel top notch and the construction is sturdy and strong. There is a mix of metallic surfaces, plastic surfaces and soft-touch surfaces that are well conceived and make the phone comfortable to hold an use. It is big, though. The Droid has a 3.7-inch screen, and a bit of an odd ledge below it that extends the size of the phone. Despite the stretched length and width, Motorola has crafted one of the thinnest sideways sliders out there. It is a little bulky when stored in a jeans pocket, but it could be much worse.
The front is mostly the display, but at the bottom of the display Motorola has added four capacitive-touch buttons. These are the back, menu, home and search keys. These automatically have haptic feedback out of the box, but that can be turned off if users wish. These four keys appear to require a slightly longer touch to use than the capacitive display itself. This makes them harder to work with, but less prone to accidental pushes. Below these keys is the ledge. According to Motorola, this ledge is where all the RF antennas are bunched, and was designed on purpose to protrude a bit from the bottom of the phone.
The microUSB port is the only thing users will interact with on the left side of the phone. The camera key and volume toggle are both on the right side of the phone. The volume toggle was acceptable. It has decent travel and feedback and is easy enough to find. The camera key is a two-stage button. The two stages are subtle, but just enough so that users can tell them apart.
One of the most annoying aspects of the hardware is the power/lock key at the top of the phone. The key itself is just a small dash that is along the very top edge. However, there's a little angled surface next to it, and this angled surface is where the Power/Lock icon is painted onto the phone. This is really confusing. I found myself constantly pushing the angled surface that has the icon rather than the button itself. Users will likely overcome this misstep over time, but still, it left me scratching my head. The 3.5mm headset jack is next to the power key.
The Droid's slider is not spring assisted. In fact, it's a little difficult to push up. It's firmly attached to the bottom half of the phone, though, and there is no weakness or give in the construction. I don't mind the lack of assistance, but some might. The QWERTY keyboard underneath is Droid's biggest weakness. It has four rows, but they are somewhat shallow, meaning there isn't a lot of space between the bottom row and the top row. There's plenty of space from side to side. The keys themselves are a disaster. They have absolutely no shape to them whatsoever. It is impossible to tell where your thumbs are on the keyboard, and it is way too easy to press multiple keys at once. Also, the keys have minimal travel and feedback, making typing on the keyboard a miserable experience. To be honest, I gave up and used the landscape software QWERTY instead.
I found the landscape QWERTY to be decent. The width takes some getting used to, and some may not like how much screen real estate it consumes, but it does a passable job.
Another weird design flaw of the Droid is that the battery cover seems to come off too easily. More than once I had it come loose in my pocket and actually fall off when I took the phone out of my pocket. Other reviewers noted this, as well. Also, the battery needs to be removed to pull out the microSD card. Weak. Motorola should know better.
There are no physical send/end keys on the Droid. All your calling will be done with software on the screen itself.
In all, the Droid is an already better piece of hardware than the recently released CLIQ from Motorola, though it does have some major weaknesses.
Source: http://www.phonescoop.com/articles/article.php?a=318&p=2282
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Apple App Store Crosses Another Threshold
A quick update from the land of Apple: The company announced on Monday another set of remarkable numbers for the app store for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Customers have downloaded more than two billion apps in the last year and a half, up from a billion in April and a billion and a half in July. Apple says there are now 85,000 apps available for the phone, up from 65,000 in July.
The blog Apple Insider further parses the numbers, calculating that an average of 6.3 million apps are downloaded a day, up from 4.1 million earlier in the year. The breadth and depth of Apple’s app store is a big reason why the iPhone continues to maintain its lead against up-and-comers like the Palm Pre and the phones running Google’s Android operating system.
Of course, there is one figure missing from the latest news out of Cupertino: How many of those apps are still being used after they’re downloaded? (We’re curious—what percentage of apps you’ve downloaded do you regularly use?)
“The rate of App Store downloads continues to accelerate with users downloading a staggering two billion apps in just over a year, including more than half a billion apps this quarter alone,” Steve Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, said in a statement. “The App Store has reinvented what you can do with a mobile handheld device, and our users are clearly loving it.”
Source: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/28/apple-apps-store-crosses-another-threshold/?hpw
The blog Apple Insider further parses the numbers, calculating that an average of 6.3 million apps are downloaded a day, up from 4.1 million earlier in the year. The breadth and depth of Apple’s app store is a big reason why the iPhone continues to maintain its lead against up-and-comers like the Palm Pre and the phones running Google’s Android operating system.
Of course, there is one figure missing from the latest news out of Cupertino: How many of those apps are still being used after they’re downloaded? (We’re curious—what percentage of apps you’ve downloaded do you regularly use?)
“The rate of App Store downloads continues to accelerate with users downloading a staggering two billion apps in just over a year, including more than half a billion apps this quarter alone,” Steve Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, said in a statement. “The App Store has reinvented what you can do with a mobile handheld device, and our users are clearly loving it.”
Source: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/28/apple-apps-store-crosses-another-threshold/?hpw
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Facebook Update for iPhone 3.0
There is now a new Facebook 3.0 for iPhone. This new update has added many features.
Now you can:
- See your upcoming Events and RSVP.
- See your friends' birthdays.
- See Pages and post updates and photos to Pages you administer.
- Write Notes and read your friends' Notes.
- Upload videos from an iPhone 3GS.
- Upload photos to any album.
- Complete photo management (create albums, delete albums, delete photos, delete photo tags).
- Change your Profile Picture.
- Zoom into photos.
- Like posts and photos.
- See the same News Feed as the Facebook website.
- Visit links in a built-in web browser.
- See all of your friends' friends and Pages.
- See mutual friends.
- Easily search for people and Pages.
- Make friend requests.
- Become a fan of Pages.
- Quickly call or text your friends.
- Create shortcuts to your favorite friends and Pages.
- Friends sorted by first or last name according to your settings.
- Chat friends sorted alphabetically.
Source: http://www.wirelessandmobilenews.com/2009/08/facebook_update_for_iphone_30_-_bdays_rsvp_notes_videos.html
Now you can:
- See your upcoming Events and RSVP.
- See your friends' birthdays.
- See Pages and post updates and photos to Pages you administer.
- Write Notes and read your friends' Notes.
- Upload videos from an iPhone 3GS.
- Upload photos to any album.
- Complete photo management (create albums, delete albums, delete photos, delete photo tags).
- Change your Profile Picture.
- Zoom into photos.
- Like posts and photos.
- See the same News Feed as the Facebook website.
- Visit links in a built-in web browser.
- See all of your friends' friends and Pages.
- See mutual friends.
- Easily search for people and Pages.
- Make friend requests.
- Become a fan of Pages.
- Quickly call or text your friends.
- Create shortcuts to your favorite friends and Pages.
- Friends sorted by first or last name according to your settings.
- Chat friends sorted alphabetically.
Source: http://www.wirelessandmobilenews.com/2009/08/facebook_update_for_iphone_30_-_bdays_rsvp_notes_videos.html
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Mobile Sites
Mobile phones have been a big success from the first day they came on the market even though they were hardly capable of doing anything. This is, obviously, no longer the case. Today they are mini computers with advanced and complex interfaces. A world without them is unimaginable. And with the Internet becoming more and more mobile friendly it makes sense to also make your website accessible for mobile phones.
Visits of such mobile sites has grown exponentially compared to Internet use with regular computers and any company should seriously consider making use of this platform.
President Obama used mobile marketing in his campaign and reached people who did not read newspapers, did not go to his regular website, did not read electronic news...but responded to his mobile campaign.
The amount of time spent to tweet or use facebook and google has grown exponentially; even more than usage of the same sites with regular computers.
One Force Mobile can help you create mobile site for your business. Contact us today for a tailor made quote and let us help you expand into this huge mobile market!
Visits of such mobile sites has grown exponentially compared to Internet use with regular computers and any company should seriously consider making use of this platform.
President Obama used mobile marketing in his campaign and reached people who did not read newspapers, did not go to his regular website, did not read electronic news...but responded to his mobile campaign.
The amount of time spent to tweet or use facebook and google has grown exponentially; even more than usage of the same sites with regular computers.
One Force Mobile can help you create mobile site for your business. Contact us today for a tailor made quote and let us help you expand into this huge mobile market!
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Deposit Checks Using Your iPhone
A privately held bank, USAA, offers an iPhone app that will allow you to use your touchscreen phone to deposit checks. While other banks offer mundane services like deposit totals, activity in the account or transfer funds, this financial services company will allow you to deposit a check using the iPhone's camera. Snap a picture of both sides of the check, properly endorsed of course, send it over to the bank and the deposit will be made.
“We’re essentially taking an image of the check, and once you hit the send button, that image is going into our deposit-taking system as any other check would,” said Wayne Peacock, a USAA executive vice president. Because the whole process is done electronically, to protect against fraud the customer must be eligible for credit and must have some form of insurance from USAA.
This is not a New York money center bank if you're wondering about it. Ranking just under the top 20 banks in the U.S., USAA has just one branch (and that is in San Antonio) and deals with mostly military personnel, although many of its products are open to anyone. While it might not be feasible for you to become a USAA customer, this still gives you a good idea of the direction we are heading into with today's feature loaded smartphones and fierce competition amongst banks to hold your assets. And while the app currently is for iPhone users only, USAA plans on expanding it for use on other smartphones in the future.
Source: http://www.phonearena.com/htmls/USAA-allows-you-to-deposit-checks-using-iPhones-camera-and-app-article-a_6386.html
“We’re essentially taking an image of the check, and once you hit the send button, that image is going into our deposit-taking system as any other check would,” said Wayne Peacock, a USAA executive vice president. Because the whole process is done electronically, to protect against fraud the customer must be eligible for credit and must have some form of insurance from USAA.
This is not a New York money center bank if you're wondering about it. Ranking just under the top 20 banks in the U.S., USAA has just one branch (and that is in San Antonio) and deals with mostly military personnel, although many of its products are open to anyone. While it might not be feasible for you to become a USAA customer, this still gives you a good idea of the direction we are heading into with today's feature loaded smartphones and fierce competition amongst banks to hold your assets. And while the app currently is for iPhone users only, USAA plans on expanding it for use on other smartphones in the future.
Source: http://www.phonearena.com/htmls/USAA-allows-you-to-deposit-checks-using-iPhones-camera-and-app-article-a_6386.html
Monday, August 10, 2009
One Force Mobile Is Expanding
Our company has been growing fast in these past few months: We just recently signed three iPhone, one Android, and one Facebook client and are excited about the things to come!
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